Grubhub CEO Matt Maloney ⇒ is facing a firestorm after speaking out against President-elect Donald Trump in an email to employees Wednesday, saying if employees don’t agree with creating a culture of support and inclusiveness, they should resign.

In the original, nearly 300-word email sent to the online food-ordering company's 1,400 employees Wednesday afternoon, Maloney said he rejects the “nationalist, anti-immigrant and hateful politics of Donald Trump.”

By the next afternoon, a Twitter campaign to boycott the company was in full force, as headlines claimed he told all pro-Trump employees to resign.

Maloney said in a blog post Thursday night his comments had been misconstrued, and that he was trying to say he doesn’t tolerate discriminatory activity or hateful commentary — not encourage Trump voters to quit.

In the original email, Maloney wrote: “While demeaning, insulting and ridiculing minorities, immigrants and the physically/mentally disabled worked for Mr. Trump, I want to be clear that his behavior - and these views, have no place at Grubhub. Had he worked here, many of his comments would have resulted in his immediate termination.”

He also wrote that the company promised to fight for any employee who was scared or felt personally exposed.

“If you do not agree with this statement then please reply to this email with your resignation because you have no place here,” he wrote. “We do not tolerate hateful attitudes on our team.”

In an emailed statement to Blue Sky, Maloney said his original email wasn’t intended to call out all Trump supporters.

“At Grubhub, we welcome and accept employees with all political beliefs, no matter who they voted for in this or any election,” he said. “We do not discriminate on the basis of someone's principles, or otherwise. The message was intended to advocate for inclusion and tolerance — regardless of political affiliation — during this time of transition for our country.”

In a tweet that was later deleted, Maloney added: "To be clear, GrubHub does not tolerate hate and we are proud of all our employees - even those who voted for Trump."

"I want to clarify that I did not ask for anyone to resign if they voted for Trump," the statement said. "I would never make such a demand."

On the Apple App Store Friday morning, Grubhub's current app version had a one-star rating. One-star reviews claimed Republicans were “not wanted” as customers of the service and accused the company of political discrimination.

Grubhub (NYSE: GRUB) shares closed Friday at $35.31 a drop of nearly 5 percent compared to the previous close. Trading volume spiked in early trading, with shares falling as low as $34.95, a nearly 6 percent drop, at one point.

On Friday morning, thousands of Twitter users were still urging others to #boycottgrubhub.

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But those complaints may have a limited effect on the company’s operations given the company’s millions of users across major markets, said Aaron Turner, an equity research analyst with Los Angeles-based Wedbush Securities.

“Given this scale I expect limited impact from a boycott and believe investors will feel the same,” he wrote in an email to Blue Sky. “This has been a very contentious election and tempers remain high on both sides, but I expect over time cooler heads, and hungry stomachs, will prevail.”

Turner said he believes the email’s impact on Grubhub’s stock will be minimal when the dust clears — and foresees minimal reaction from institutional investors.

“Investors are more focused on the possible ramifications of Mr. Trump’s policies on the tech sector rather than the knee-jerk reaction to an email intended to calm employees that may feel vulnerable after the conclusion of the election,” he said.

As for Maloney’s fate, Turner said he shouldn’t be worried.

“I would ascribe a 0% chance Maloney loses his job over this,” he said.

Nicholas Pearce, a clinical associate professor of management and organizations at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, said he thought forcing employees to agree with a leader's beliefs flies in the face of diversity and inclusion — though he said he did not think that was Maloney's intent.

He said Maloney’s email may have landed better if it focused on the company’s values and left the election out of it.

“If it's going to touch politics, it's important for the leadership to tie the conversation to the organization's values,” he said. “If it doesn't touch the organization's values, then a political conversation is unnecessarily incendiary.”

That said, Pearce said Maloney’s message may have still been received poorly by some, Trump mention or not.

"I think the note could have benefited from a little more strategic finessing, to be sure. At the same time, there is no way to insulate yourself from the potential backlash that being a word and deed advocate of diversity, inclusion and equity is likely to engender,” he said. “There will be a net business impact."

Michael Sheehan, an employment attorney and Chicago-based partner at DLA Piper, said employers should be careful about statements that might run afoul of National Labor Relations Board rules.

"I will advise clients, and my colleagues will advise clients, to stay away from chastising or in any way looking into or criticizing colleagues in the workplace for how they vote, period,” he said.

But Joseph Yastrow, also an employment attorney and Chicago-based partner at Laner Muchin, said he found it unlikely there would be any legal action against an email like Maloney’s. That said, “If they asked for my feedback, I think I would’ve softened the message,” he said.

In the aftermath of this week’s election, other CEOs have spoken out about the results to customers, employees and investors. Julie Smolyansky, President and CEO of Morton Grove-based Lifeway Kefir, had a strong message for shareholders after someone expressed displeasure at Smolyansky’s support of Hillary Clinton.

“Hey stockholders, if you are a rape apologist, sexist, racist, demagogue, bigot, feel free to no longer own shares,” she tweeted Thursday night.

Apple CEO Tim Cook also wrote an email to employees Wednesday, calling for unity.

“Regardless of which candidate each of us supported as individuals, the only way to move forward is to move forward together,” he wrote.

Here's the full text of Maloney's email to Grubhub employees, sent midday Wednesday, Nov. 9.

So... that happened... what's next?

I'm still trying to reconcile my own worldview with the overwhelming message that was delivered last night. Clearly there are a lot of people angry and scared as the antithesis of every modern presidential candidate won and will be our next president.

While demeaning, insulting and ridiculing minorities, immigrants and the physically/mentally disabled worked for Mr. Trump, I want to be clear that this behavior - and these views, have no place at Grubhub. Had he worked here, many of his comments would have resulted in his immediate termination.

We have worked for years cultivating a culture of support and inclusiveness. I firmly believe that we must bring together different perspectives to continue innovating - including all genders, races, ethnicities and sexual, cultural or ideological preferences. We are better, faster and stronger together.

Further I absolutely reject the nationalist, anti-immigrant and hateful politics of Donald Trump and will work to shield our community from this movement as best as I can. As we all try to understand what this vote means to us, I want to affirm to anyone on our team that is scared or feels personally exposed, that I and everyone else here at Grubhub will fight for your dignity and your right to make a better life for yourself and your family here in the United States.

If you do not agree with this statement then please reply to this email with your resignation because you have no place here. We do not tolerate hateful attitudes on our team.

I want to repeat what Hillary said this morning, that the new administration deserves our open minds and a chance to lead, but never stop believing that the fight for what's right is worth it.